KPK Govt to Introduce Electronic Rickshaws to Reduce Pollution

The transport department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is goint to introduce electronic rickshaws in order to tackle the alarmingly high number of pollution-causing rickshaws in the province.

KPK Govt to Introduce Electronic Rickshaws to Reduce Pollution

Rickshaws are the most-popular form of transport in Pakistan and have been around for quite some time. Rickshaws are a common sight in a buzzing traffic-heavy city such as Peshawar. But Now Electronic Rickshaws are going to introduce in Peshawar which are completely silent and also does not cause any form of hazardous pollution.

Power electrical motor designed these richskaws which are much smaller in size and featuring a cleaner design by enabling fast acceleration. They are capable of accommodating three to four people and can go as fast as 40-45 kilometers per hour. Being powered by electricity, they don’t emit any kind of pollution or make any noise and apart from that, they are also considerably cheaper than their gas or petrol-powered alternatives. A driver with a permit can buy one of these E-Rickshaws for a moderate Rs.240,000, much lesser than the Rs.300,000 it costs to buy an auto-rickshaw.

The E-Rickshaw is capable of being driven for as much as 50 km on 80% battery, and can be charged through any normal outlet (100V-240V). The battery takes around two hours to attain 80% charging while a full charge can take seven hours.

There are also two more prototypes that are being launched alongside the e-rickshaw; a mini-cab, capable of comfortably carrying five passengers at a time and running 150 km on a single charge; and a loader, which comes with an open luggage compartment at the back.

According to the Regional Transport Authority Secretary Naimatullah, The total number of rickshaws in the city is estimated to be around 50,000. among them only 13,000 rickshaws are registered in Peshawar. That is why, Peshawar is considered the sixth most polluted city in the world, as reported by WHO in 2011. So the introduction of e-rickshaws can be hugely beneficial for reducing the disastrous effect that is caused by the poisonous gases emitted by the high number of auto-rickshaws.